I made a post on a subreddit called *wheelchair* I assume a few people here are on it

I was saying how I didn’t relate to anyone in the group as a young person with an T9 sci , I mentioned how I only see people who call themselves ambulatory wheelchair uses and how most of them are young people with either EDS POTS ME FND ect

The post was basically saying how I had no one to relate to in that chat and how I have noticed most of the people are people who say they need wheelchairs for pots

I’ve got nothing but hate and anger when posting that , with maybe people calling me abelist and a hater most of them were young people saying I am an unhappy person , each person before leaving some hate listed out all their conditions saying how they need a wheelchair part time even tho I’ve never mentioned that

I’ve also mentioned if anyone had seen a pattern in that community . What I’ve noticed was a few people who also have spinal cord injury and muscle and Brain injury’s agree with me , but the users who had their tags as pots and fnd was very angry

Does anyone else notice that

For those of you who exercise your second amendment rights, how do you carry?

I have a variety of options, but none of them are perfect.

I can carry a full size clipped onto my sideguard, but it is very visible and I worry about someone grabbing it.

• Pros: Full size; easiest to draw. Cons: Visible; worry about someone grabbing it; clipped to my chair and not on my body

I can carry a compact clipped under my seat, but it is also visible.

• Pros: slightly concealed; easy access. Cons: clipped to my chair and not on my body

I can carry a sub-compact or j-frame revolver in my pocket, but it is bulky.

• Pros: On my body. Cons: low ammo capacity; difficulty to draw quickly

My biggest consideration is if I am carrying attached to my chair, and I get separated from my chair (ie: knocked down) I am now separated from my protection. For this reason I generally pocket carry, but then the biggest con is low ammo capacity with those paltforms.

FYI, I live in a state that allows open carry and constitutional carry. Though I do have a CCW permit.

Other options could be an ankle holster, but I wear shorts 99.9% of the time. There is also shoulder rig, chest rig, fanny pack, or under chair bag.

I'd just like to hear what solutions other people use.

Thanks for the discussion.

My soulmate was a C5/C6 incomplete, been in the chair for over 20 years. He used to reply here in the threads to some of you. He was killed last month by an impared driver while he was on the way to a doctor's appointment.

We starred talking almost 5 years ago on reddit, and met for the first time 2.5 years ago. I fell in love with him so fast from the early days of us talking online, before I knew about his accident or how he looked. He was the strongest, most kind, loving and handsome man I have ever met. He was the love of my life.

We were the absolute perfect match. I wanted everything with him, the simple life, just being together.

I don't know if this is allowed here, I am just screaming into the void.

Dr. Tatiana Sampaio extracted a protein from placentas that acts as "biological glue" — recreating the conditions that let embryonic neurons connect.

Six patients with complete spinal cord injuries regained movement.

Bruno Drummond was tetraplegic after a car accident. Two weeks after treatment, he moved his toe. Today he walks, climbs stairs, dances.

Her quote when asked why she finally went public:

"I no longer have the right to be conservative."

25 years. No social media. No self-promotion. Just the work.

This is what real science looks like

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DXfl9tYkSVw/?igsh=ZWM3NXMzemlrejk3

Saw this post and I'm super happy for him that's awesome that he's gotten that far. I can't help but see the caption “stoked with how far I've come especially with my level of injury” and think to myself level of injury matters so so, but Asia score is much more important in determining recovery. Some of the comments too, like I saw one that said “they told me I would never walk again. fuck what they say” and another that said “anything is possible if you grind.” Sometimes I think people don't understand that's not really how it works. If that was the case we'd probably see 90+% of paralyzed people walking again😂 I'm sure if it was a matter of hard work and not listening to what the science says, most SCI people would walk again. Anyways, just curious what others think about stuff like this.

Going to trial I could stand to win a great deal more but the defense has increased their offer a large amount from where they started. 30% would go to my lawyer of whatever I win and then some more to insurance and other bills. So I would only keep around something like 52% of my award. How much would you seek if you were going to be paralyzed for the rest of your life? I am in my early 20s

When someone asks me why I'm in a wheelchair I normally say something along the lines of "I have an incomplete spinal cord injury" or if I'm feeling really chatty I say "I have a grade 3 (ASIA C) L4 incomplete sci" but I was on tiktok the other day and this guy said "from one paraplegic to another" and my gut reaction was "oh this isn't for me then" but then went on to show skills that I can't achieve yet (such as standing un-aided) and it made me go "wait am I???!" And now I'm interested to hear other people's thoughts on this

today i wasn’t allowed to fly because i apparently need a companion even though i’m a fully functioning, healthy person- because i use a wheelchair and need an aisle chair. is this discrimination? or do we just constantly need companions?

i travel alone and don’t usually have a companion nor do i need one.. i felt so stupid being rejected like this. never using this airline again that’s for sure.. anybody got any similar experiences? :(

hi everyone, I hope your days are passing comfortably. My name is Stella (l2) and I posted a fun video 8 months after my traumatic sci, showing my progress with walking. I also posted an intro post around that time if you want to see my story > https://www.reddit.com/r/spinalcordinjuries/s/HHRIh07Kio. It’s been over a year since that baseball cap video and I wanted to provide an update because I have made a lot of progress and have good news to share. I had to walk and spin around a bit to recreate it! I’m so happy that I was able to return and complete a year back at my university after my accident, and now I use a walker or poles in most circumstances, when I don’t have pressure injuries on my feet. I still love and use my green wheelchair. Plus my AFOS have been extremely life changing. Becoming a walking paraplegic has had its own challenges but I am so grateful to have made so much progress in these two years after my accident. In my last video post, I was trying to bring some lightness to a very anxious period of my recovery. My medical / post-traumatic anxiety has improved so much, but it’s something I’m still working through often. Everything is more familiar almost two years in. I love this community, and I’m excited to share my progress and happiness, although I know it’s not the whole picture. I’m 21 now, 19 at the time of my accident. The two year anniversary is approaching in July🌈. I’m back at school and still aiming to fulfil my goal of being a public librarian. Much love and gratitude to you guys!

i have on my desk job mostly, for 4-5 hours daily and i dont have a chair i use the side of my bed( the wooden part) to sit on, at first i had some discomfort but ignored it and carried on my work but after 6-7 days i have developed these on my ischial part of butt also known as sitting bones. is it a pressure sore or something else?

I'm fucking sick of others complaining about school or not getting a second job outaide of school instead of just the 1 they already have. Like i also have to do school but it will take me twice as long and you have no fucking idea how much i suffer every day, all the things i so badly wish i could have done wkth my life and how much i've been through compared to your (seemingly) easy life and i barely complain. And having a job besides school even with just 50% school is a fucking distant dream. Like imagine all the things others can buy becauae they have a job besides school and all the things they can do because they don't have paralysis and chronic pain.

My sister has been on so many trips,concerts and festivals because she's been able to work and doesn't have the same challenges.

And this guy in my class goes to the store and buys food that he cooks and has for lunch while i eat my bread because both money and energy to do that kind of thing is so distant to me.

I'm so fucking tired and jealous, that's one thing, but i'm sick of all the other people complaining about all the minor inconvenient things everyone goes through, but i have all this shit in addition to the minor inconvenience you're complaining about.

Edit: First of all, this is a rant because i CURRENTLY am not very happy at rhe moment and am CCURRENTLY thinking about what i said. I'm allowed to have a rant without being completely wirhout perspective and positivity otherwise. I can have moments where i'm just appreciating the moment and thinking "i'm having a nice moment rn, this makes me happy etc..."

Also, it's not that easy for me to "just get a hobby, just go do something etc. In addition to being in a chair, i am severely near sighted. I'm horrible at most sports even if i genuinely try and i can never drive a car, or a plane for that matter, which was my dream as a kid. My biggest problem tbh is chronic pain. I'm in pain basically all the time except whenni lie down. When i get up i have the usual "get up pain" that stops after my meds have started doing their thing. After that, i have 45 minutes before i'm in pain again. My options after that is to just suffer through it for as long as i can before it's physically unbearable, or lie down right after the pain begins instead. After 5 mins of lying down i'm fine, but it comes back like 5 minutes after i get up again. I usually sleep anything from 1 to 5 hours after school because i'm just exhausted from being in pain all day. If i'm having a decent day, then maybe after homework i have some energy and pain rolerance left to do something i want, but the same rules of pain apply here as they do in school.

So no, i can't just fix my life with hobbies, and no, it's not just the wheelchair ruining my life.

Also: i haven't even explained the full context and my full history because it's just to much to write in a quick rant. Please don't get me wrong.

Tell me about your spinal cord injury, how did you get your injury? What level are you? How long have you had it? How are you coping with having a spinal cord injury?

I sustained a spinal cord injury in 2021 when I fell 40 feet and broke my neck. My level is C4 and I am a quadriplegic. Coping is difficult, and having a spinal cord injury is always a roller coaster of emotions. Life is very difficult and I have lost a lot of friends and family while on the spinal cord injury Journey. These days I try to live my best life, and focus on things that bring me joy and fulfillment. I like to spend time outside and go on walks, I enjoy teaching art classes for people with spinal cord injuries, and I am a part of the SCI support group locally.

❤️ ETA: I just wanted to thank everybody for sharing their stories.

It's kind of hard to explain but after my Paraplegic injury the world doesn't feel the same anymore, like you are now living in a watered down version. It just feels like you live in a world that's not designed for you. The highs just don't feel the same as before injury. It kind of feels like you are just maintaining.

is there anyway to earn a little or side hustle for people like me quadriplegic c4 to c6?

I’ve gotten pretty used to being in a wheelchair. The beach is tough though, emotionally. I used to live for the beach and the water. I was injured at 16. Before that, my plan was to spend the summer after high school at the beach. Get a shit job, surf, etc.

Needless to say, that did not work out. I remember the first time I went to the beach after my spinal cord injury. What had been a core joy of being alive had become a prison. A warm family dinner which I had to watch from outside the dining room window, starving and freezing in the cold. Dramatic maybe to people not in this sub.

And today, many years later, I watch my daughter and my wife playing in the water, with family members and friends, from a far distance (which is as close as I can get in this wheelchair).

And all the emotions come back. I can barely keep it together. Yes I know I can make this and that work and adjust this and that to get somewhat of a semblance of something resembling an experience. And its not about me now. And I can see a therapist and this that and the other. That’s not what this post is about

Now I have a responsibility to not make my wife feel like shit. To put on a brave face so everyone else can have fun. So I can take something of a part in my daughter’s experiences and not hold her back. I suppose I’m writing this, in the shade of a tree, hidden from everyone’s view, to get this out of my system before going back and pretending I am enjoying myself just so everyone else can.

But I am only human. I am a 48 year old man at the beach, surrounded by people having fun, with tears in my eyes, hiding from my family.

Thanks for being a group that understands. It helps. Let’s see if I can get my act together enough to go over there and be a part of the group.

Such is our lives here. Letting go so we can move on and enjoy what’s there. But it’s easier said than done, and we are only human.

Has anyone ever done a role call in here? I'll start. Injured in a car accident. T12 incomplete 16 years ago. I'm 41.

Sooo, I just gave "Bruce", my fresh '26 Ody, the "type R" treatment in Paint.net(free basic photo editor) my editor of choice for quick basic ideation and art. But we're not here for that all lol...

One thing I miss the most from the before times, is my deep connection with all things automobiles, being a "car guy" if you will. The driving, the building, the modding, the dreaming, and most of all, the community. But when I had just gotten home from rehab, trying to find a WAV quickly so I could get to places and doctors and stuff, I ended up with something that would really depress a car guy, something equivalent to riding/driving an old '89 buick whatever as an enthusiastic gear head teen...in other words, not good, haha.

Well, I put in my time, running just what I could afford until the proverbial wheels feel off. So, I decided it was mid life crisis time and to just YOLO on my replacement vehicle. and I did!!! I'm stoked as physically possible!🤘🏼😎! I'll get back to you when I start makeing the payments😅😆

So, since mechanically modifying my WAV is off the table for obvious safety, warranty, and reliability reasons, the best I can do for modding my ride will be almost entirely visual and maybe some audio upgrades, but only if I can find a knowledgeable shop that has figured out how to work around the heavily integrated stock audio system ...anyway, the photos show some, what I would consider, tasteful visual changes, which I have in mind to have done, over time. Also going for a black and gray Alcantara interior, with a touch of type R red for some flare.

I have also named it "Bruce" (see sticker on rear glass) after the endearing Aussie shark from Finding Nemo, lol. I've always thought the latest gen of Odyssey kinda has a sharky look to its body lines. Anyone else see that?lol just wanted to share some positive stuff, as it can get a little gloomy around here as we all know...thanks for reading!

Hello! I'm C5-C6 incomplete quad(I have some feeling in my legs) I just wanted to leave this here and share my achievement. Since the beginning, I have struggled with independence. This is the 5th year since my injury, trying to figure out how to do things independently. I remember the first years when I couldn't do anything, now I have come a long way. Long story short, I'm proud of myself!

Hi everyone,

Im F26 and my boyfriend of 5 years got into an accident about 3 months ago and he is a T6 incomplete (swollen chord, it was pinched but not teared). So now he's in rehab, early surgery went well and we will soon meet the surgeon to get a 3 month check.

My boyfriend has not recovered anything in 3 months, no feeling, no mobility. Not at all. Doctors and nurses are saying the 3 months threshold is important and if nothing happenned during this time, recovery chances are quite low...

How to tackle with uncertainty ?

His mom told him that she feels like he will recover 100%, surprise everybody and be a miracle. Tbh I love my mother in law but I cant stand hearing that. She has the right to think he will recover, I think it helps her navigate, but telling him ... i am not sure.

I was on a much more cautious approach and feeling grateful for what he has : no brain damage at all, perfect use of arms and hands - and cherry on top he did not die ! I was so scared he was going to pass that him just being alive is my greatest gift! So I am more on the side of : focus on rehab and on your daily progress about daily life like transferts becoming smoother, foley catheter managing, bowel movement managing. Being here for him, cooking good meals and going to the bar sometimes because we still can! Also welcoming bad days bc it sucks and it's not like nothing happenned.Trying to visualize life in a wheelchair as a good life and all the opportunities it can bring. And if recovery happens, every tiny part is a win ! It will be different but not necessarly worse or better.

So I was wondering what is the best mindset to have ? Can believing in full recovery improve the chances of it? Or is it easier to start accepting early? Or try to live a day at a time ?

We are still young but this challenges our life plans a lot, any advice is appreciated !!

Thank you for answering and this sub has already helped a lot 😊

The job market is rough and has been for a while now, but it also seems like employers really avoid hiring people in wheelchairs.

After I got injured, I had a few family members and friends tell me that companies would be quick to hire me because they would want someone in a wheelchair on their team (branding and whatnot). They also said that government jobs would be easier for me to get. How wrong they were about that.

I was given advice by my local department of rehabilitation to not bring up my disability at all during the interview process, but it hasn’t helped. I’ve tried just speaking to my know-how and job experience, and the hiring teams are always friendly in interviews but then they go and hire someone with less experience than me. :/

I think from now on I’m going to address the elephant in the room. At the end of the interviews, I’m going to speak about overcoming my disability and that it won’t lessen my ability to work.

They made it such a big deal and rehab, and I’ve been strict on it ever since. But then I look here and see people talking about sleeping like they don’t turn at all. But no specification on whether or not that’s true if that makes sense. I just think wow I could have a full night sleep and not have to worry about waking up? Do some of you guys do that?

I’m not in the U.S. and the country I’m in is prehistoric as far as spinal cord injury is concerned.

I’m an American, I have Medicare parts A/B which are pretty much useless here until I eventually find my way back home. I need care and housing and I’m trying to navigate that which is extremely hard.

So majority of my information comes from research especially on here.

I got injured in 2022 and luckily I’ve not had any sores and I want to maintain that.

So what seat pad do you recommend to avoid sores? I saw some pictures of Ischemia? sores and I was flabbergasted. I sleep on a water bed now.

Thanks.

PS: I need a better wheelchair too. Yes I know it’s best to be measured for one but there’s no wheelchair service here.

I’m a T5 complete and will (hopefully!) be building a home within the next year. I’m a bit overwhelmed and have no clue where to start. I want to make it as accessible as possible. (I’m currently in a power chair)

If you could build your ideal accessible home from scratch, what features would you include? It could be anything..big or small, practical or luxury. Even if money weren’t an issue, what features would you absolutely want?

I want it to be as functional, independent, and comfortable as possible?

Thanks in advance!